Indian para athletes deliver superb performances to shatter previous benchmarks

India concluded its 2026 Asian Para Games campaign in Aichi-Nagoya with an unprecedented 114 medals. Surpassing previous records, competitors secured 30 gold, 35 silver, and 49 bronze medals across various disciplines.Paralympic Committee of India President Devendra Jhajharia noted this milestone reflects the dedication and courage of the competitors. "Crossing the 100-medal mark and reaching 114 medals is a proud moment for Indian para-sports," Jhajharia stated. He highlighted that consistent government backing has empowered the sporting ecosystem to reach excellence. This outstanding performance comes even though the 2026 contingent consisted of only 168 members, significantly fewer than the 309 who traveled to Hangzhou for the last edition.

Dominating track and field events

Competitors produced several world-record performances in track events. Haney secured gold in the men's javelin throw F37/38 with a 60.49-metre effort, establishing a T37 world record. Sandeep clinched gold in the men's 400m T64 with a time of 52.28 seconds, setting a T44 world record, while Ajay Kumar claimed bronze in the same event at 53.61 seconds.

Sumit took gold in the men's javelin throw F42-F44/F61-F64 with a 72.46-metre throw. Mahendra Gurjar won silver with a 59.03-metre throw, and Sandip Sanjay Sargar grabbed bronze with 64.48 metres, both setting Games records. Pranav Soorma threw 32.87 metres to win the men's club throw F51, breaking the prior 29.47-metre mark, with Dharambir taking bronze at 27.71 metres. Navdeep Singh earned bronze in men's javelin F40/41, while Rakeshbhai Bhatt and Sandeep added bronzes in the 200m T37 and 100m T44 races, respectively.

Historic badminton and archery sweeps

Badminton players ensured multiple podium finishes. Nitesh Kumar defeated Pramod Bhagat 21-18, 21-16 to win the men's singles SL3 gold, forcing Bhagat to settle for silver. Thulasimathi Murugesan and Manasi Girishchandra Joshi beat China's Qiuxia Yang and Zuxian Xiao 21-16, 21-13 in women's doubles SL3-SU5. Thulasimathi and Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan also claimed silvers in their respective singles categories.Archers Harvinder Singh and Vijay Sundi secured gold in men's recurve doubles. Pooja Jatyan and Bhawna Choudhary brought home silver in women's recurve doubles, marking India's first medal in this specific event.

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Shooting and swimming milestones

Mona Agarwal earned gold in the women's 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 with a score of 357.5. This established both world and Asian Para Games records, making her the first Indian woman to win this event. Swimmer Himanshu Nandal finished the men's 100m freestyle S11 in 1:05.90 to claim his third bronze of the competition. Table tennis players Jehan Dorab Madan and Shubham Wadhwa secured bronze in men's doubles Class MD4. At 50 years old, Madan became the oldest Indian to win a medal at this edition.

With Inputs from Agency Threads and Image Courtesy: ANI